Back on May 8, Warren announced her plans to set student loan interest rates at the same level big banks receive from the Federal Reserve. Come July 1,
some student loan rates are set to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8
percent, prompting Warren to push for legislation that reduces the level
to 0.75 percent.

By Thursday, Warren's website showcased
that more than two dozen organizations have endorsed the measure. Among
the notable supporters were major universities like the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and groups like American Federation of Teachers.

Coupled with the support from outside sources is a strong core of political colleagues
behind the bill. Sens. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Barbara Boxer
(D-Calif.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Jeff
Merkley (D-Ore.) and John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) have joined on as
co-sponsors, and Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) has introduced a corresponding House version of the bill.

In a Tuesday op-ed for the Boston Globe entitled "Banking on our students,"
Warren and Tierney stressed the other end of the student loan
predicament: government profits. Back in mid-May, figures from the
Congressional Budget Office showed that the Department Of Education is
set to reap a record $51 billion profit from student loan borrowers. From the Globe:

This is not fair. And it’s not necessary, either. The
federal government makes 36 cents on every dollar it lends to students.
Just last week, the Congressional Budget Office announced that the
government will make $51 billion on the student loans it issued this
year — more than the annual profit of any Fortune 500 company, and about
five times Google’s yearly earnings. We should not be profiting from
students who are drowning in debt while we are giving great deals to big
banks.

The student loan rates went up when obummer decided that only 5 banks in the U.S. can make student loans. What a bunch of crap.

Since most student loans aren't paid any way, it probably won't matter. Because of obummer, there are very few jobs for college grads.

Let me get this straight. Elizabeth Warren is trying to pass a bill that will lower the rate on College Loans to that of what banks can get (A drastic change) and you are here complaining about Obama, why?

You do realize Student loan rates have gone up far before President Obama went into Office (This wasn't something that just sprouted up in the past few years).

And you do realize we were losing hundreds of thousands of jobs before President Obama went into office as well, right?

Or are you just one of those people that blame everything on Obama? Do you believe he had something to do with that tornado as well? It looks like it will rain today, should I blame Obama for that?

Let's take a minute and blame Obama for everything that has ever happened. Now can we get back on track?

This is a good bill. And I imagine anyone who gets behind her and supports the bill will look good for doing it. The people who don't, wont. So whether this bill gets through or not, I imagine it will be a success for her. But I hope it will make it through.

"Obummer," as you refer to him, helped to initiate a reasonable and low-cost pay off program for those who've seen their student loans go into default.

They work with the DOE, paying back a fee each month that they (a former student) can budget and within a matter of months, their student loan is no longer in default and they can then start on a new program that will be budget-assisted to fit their income needs to continue paying their loans off and help avoid future default.

The guy can't be that bad to have helped with this type of program.

Quoting gsprofval:

The student loan rates went up when obummer decided that only 5 banks in the U.S. can make student loans. What a bunch of crap.

Since most student loans aren't paid any way, it probably won't matter. Because of obummer, there are very few jobs for college grads.

I agree that interest on student loans should be lowered. The real problem is that too many students take the loans and the money is not spent to cover tuition costs--it's used for "fun" things like trips to Disney Land, tvs, getting hair and nails done, Coach purses, Nike shoes, etc.

I see and hear it every day, so I know how that money is too often spent.

College tuition has skyrocketted over the past 10-odd years, and I worry that cheap borrowed money is just going to make it that much easier for colleges to let this skyrocketing continue. Essentially, tuition increases are in a market where, because you have to get a degree to have a job these days (although it's not a guarantee, it's still your best bet), people are going to pay anything to go to college, which means they will borrow any sum of money, especially if they can do it cheaply.

I'm not against this - but I really think we need to consider how stuff like this is effecting that particular market.